No charges against N.J. troopers accused of rape

[flashl]

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Seven state troopers accused of raping a woman at one of their homes will not be charged with a crime, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Stephanie Kurowsky, a spokeswoman for the Middlesex County prosecutor, said the case has been closed, but would not comment further.

In December, a woman told authorities that she had been raped by a group of off-duty troopers she met at a Trenton night club. The troopers said the activity at one of their homes later that night was consensual.

...

"The victim is extremely upset that the DA's office is not going to present the case to the grand jury and is not going to prosecute the matter," the woman's lawyer, Nat Dershowitz, said. "She feels she has been left without any justice."

He said there were delays in the investigation and his client was not treated fairly.

USA Today

[Fed_Up_Grammy]

1. Well maybe they didn't do it.

[gaspee]

3. Sure!

Lots of 25 year old women agree to gang sex with ugly old men! Women *love* that sort of thing! Why, just watch some porn and you'll know that women *want* to be hurt and humiliated while being fucked by 7 guys.


And it case anyone didn't get it....

:sarcasm:
:sarcasm:
:sarcasm:

I'd be all over the benefit of the doubt and inocent until proven guilty thing, but these guys admit it happened but say it was consensual. Yeah, right.

[Iris]

5. That's pretty much what I was thinking when I read this.

I'd like to see a study done to find out what percentage of women would actually agree to this kind of activity in real life. I'd bet it would be a very, very small number.

[noamnety]

4. Apparently that's not relevant.

If establishing guilt or innocence were a concern, they'd have a trial.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

6. Only if there were sufficient evidence of guilt, and/or insufficient evidence of innocence.

If they're not holding a trial, the most likely reason is that they don't think there's enough evidence to justify it, or even that they think there's enough evidence of innocence to justify not doing it.

[noamnety]

7. Thank you for adding your insight

once again to the women's rights forum. :)

[flashl]

2. Troopers won't be charged in rape allegation

Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan announced that the case was closed. He declined to elaborate, but lawyers involved in the case said it was terminated without being brought before a grand jury.

...

The 25-year-old student alleged she was assaulted by several men, including one or more off-duty troopers, at the Ewing Township home of one of the officers after a night of drinking in a Trenton nightclub.

...

Kaplan declined any comment, citing concerns for privacy and fairness and the possibility that the State Police will bring administrative charges against the troopers.

Fahy said he anticipates the troopers will face an internal investigation, though they are planning to return to work Monday. In a joint statement, he and the lawyers for the other six troopers cited the prosecutor's decision as vindication.

...

Dershowitz said the victim is considering whether to file a civil lawsuit or a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Attorney's Office. That decision should be made within coming weeks, he said.

...

"If you get somebody drunk or you take advantage of somebody who's drunk, there's a lack of consent," he said. "I understand that it's a tough case to prosecute, but that doesn't mean that tough prosecutors don't know how to do it."

Everthing NJ

"any sufficiently motivated prosecutor could put anyone in prison for the violation of some federal law."

Robert Jackson, US Attorney General, made a famous speech almost 70 years ago that included the following remarks:

The prosecutor has more control over life, liberty, and reputation than any other person in America.

His discretion is tremendous.

The prosecutor can order arrests, present cases to the grand jury in secret session, and on the basis of his one-sided presentation of the facts, can cause the citizen to be indicted and held for trial.

He may dismiss the case before trial, in which case the defense never has a chance to be heard.

...

While the prosecutor at his best is one of the most beneficent forces in our society, when he acts from malice or other base motives, he is one of the worst.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

8. "night of drinking" should be the operative phrase. She probably wasn't capable of consent.

Yes, people often imbibe too much and hook up with strangers. But this situation probably does not fall in that category. No way in hell out of 7 guys there weren't at least one or two who were cognizant that something was awry, but they went ahead and preyed upon the woman anyway. And as law enforcement officers, they should know damn well better than to have sex with a woman they picked up in a bar who'd been drinking. At least they're facing administrative charges and I hope the woman sues.